Final Fantasy XV Demo Discussed by Game Director, Could Include Content Not Featured in Final Game

December 30, 2014
Written by Jason Dunning

Yesterday, Famitsu posted an interview with Final Fantasy Type-0 HD and Final Fantasy XV Game Director Hajime Tabata, where he talked a bit about both titles. Following its publication, the full interview was translated by Automaton, and as with any translated interview, keep in mind that some things could have been lost in translation.

First up, Tabata talked about the graphics in Final Fantasy Type-0 HD:

We’re in the final stages of adjustment, so there are things that are set and others we’re adjusting. With the characters, we’re adjusting the character models and textures so as to best capture the feel of the [PSP] originals. Sometimes the original facial expressions bottleneck the adjustments we’re trying to make, so in those cases we adjust the facial expressions as well. Rem, Queen and Deuce in particular have been cutened up. (laughs)

Some other changes with the HD version of Type-0 include the camera being “a little closer to the characters,” with character growth balance also being adjusted. “For example adjusting the requirements for how much EXP you need to level up,” he said. “I think you’ll find fighting with – and leveling up – your favorite characters will be more fun than it was before.”

Moving to Final Fantasy XV and the Episode Duscae demo that will be included with all first-run copies of Type-0 HD, Tabata revealed that new character Cidney will be in the demo, but “she’s not deeply involved in the main story.”

He continued by talking about how magic may not be included in the demo:

We’re still not sure if we’ll have magic in the demo, but we’re planning to have combos, team-attacks, summoning, basically the whole complement of the battle system and even some things that aren’t even going to be in the final release.

After receiving feedback from gamers around the world, Tabata says they’ve been adjusting the demo’s content since it first went public:

At first the idea was to center the demo around the places you can drive, but the focus shifted towards exploring by walking across the world map. We really want people to experience that along with the cycle of combat and returning to camp. For example, that part in the trailer where you see that Behemoth walking around [is in the demo].

While the demo “should give you a deep sense of the lay of the land and how vast the world is,” there unfortunately won’t be any Chocobos in it.

Finally, the length of days for the final game is also being adjusted, with them jumping from “around 30 minutes” to “around an hour long.” They’re also trying to have the daytime portions lasting longer than nighttime in the final game, with the demo “probably” using the hour-long days.

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD launches on March 17, 2015 in North America and March 20, 2015 in Europe for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.